


Rain Check

by epsilonfive



Series: Rain Check [1]
Category: Breaking Bad
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-13
Updated: 2016-10-13
Packaged: 2018-08-22 06:50:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8276719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/epsilonfive/pseuds/epsilonfive
Summary: What if Walt followed up on that rain check on go-karts he promised Jesse?





	

Walt looks uncomfortable.

Juvenile, he’d call it.

He watches Jesse at the front desk, paying their way to having the whole track to themselves. It seems a little excessive, but then again Walt’s glad to have the chance of a crash reduced some.

Jesse makes his way over eventually with two helmets, and hands one to Walt.

Walt eyes it suspiciously and turns it over in his hands, causing Jesse to roll his eyes in the process. 

“It’s just a helmet yo,” He says with a huff, putting his own on and doing up the strap. “C’mon put it on already! I would’ve thought someone as anal as you would jump at the chance for something to be boring-- I mean, _safer_ ,” and Jesse smirks irritatingly, causing Walt to cast him a withering look before putting on his own helmet and strapping it up.

They head to the track where an attendant is waiting, seemingly confused as to why they were the only two people coming to this rather popular go-kart track, but he smiles at them as they approach.

“Go ahead and pick your ride,” He says enthusiastically, gesturing at the various go-karts at the side of the track. “It’s an hour a pop, so I’ll flag you guys down when it’s time for you to head out.”

Jesse waves the man off and picks a red go-kart; in truth he doesn’t much care for which one he ends up with, but he likes red as a colour.

 _Ironic_ , he thinks bitterly as he remembers just how much blood has been spilt in front of him. Too much. Too much for one lifetime.

He considers choosing a different one, but then Walt would probably observe that and get suspicious, and Jesse’s definitely not in the mood to discuss anything right now.

Walt’s picks his own, a green number and Jesse registers it and wonders if maybe that’s Walt’s favourite colour.

“Have a good one!” The attendant calls out before he starts to leave, and Jesse, whose go-kart is somewhat behind Walt’s, drives up til he’s beside Walt.

“You sure you know how to ride one of these?” He says, half amused, half eager to get going.

Walt narrows his eyes at him.

“I’m sure I can figure it out.” He says coolly, placing his hands on the steering wheel and feet at the pedals.

“Alright then,” Is all Jesse says before he’s off, zooming down the track. “Get your ass in gear, Mr. White!” He calls out, his voice growing fainter with every word.

Walt grits his teeth at the head start Jesse has on him before stepping on it and tearing down the track after the red go-kart that gets closer by the minute.

After some time he manages to catch up to Jesse, and Jesse looks at him, a flash of something that looks like terror in his eyes before he gave Walt another of those sideways smirks.

“Wow I’m impressed you caught up with me Mr. White,” He calls over the rev of the go-karts, mocking surprise before glancing at the track ahead. “Wanna make a race of it?”

Walt rolls his eyes. Childish. Immature. A waste of his competetive skills.

“What’s up?” Jesse’s voice brings Walt out of his thoughts. “You scared? Huh bitch?”

Walt almost growls. Jesse knows _exactly_ what buttons to push, exactly what to say and how to say it and how to look and act and _everything_ that makes Walt tick. He puts the breaks on; after all they have the whole track to themselves.

Jesse realises moments later and has to break hard, reversing backwards to settle beside Walt again.

“Fine,” Walt says simply. 

Jesse nods vigorously.

“That’s more like it! I knew you couldn’t pussy out,” His tongue darts out to wet his lips. “Wanna bet on it?”

 _No_ , is Walt’s first reaction. After all what could they possibly bet on? They both had more money than they knew what to do with. Then again, maybe it didn’t have to be material.

“Alright,”

“Sweet! Okay, if I win you gotta have a beer with me after this,”

Walt blinks. Of all the things Jesse would want as a victory reward for a bet, Walt would think hanging out would be the last thing on the list. If anything he would’ve thought it’d be the exact opposite, get Walt to stop criticizing him for everything or something.

Jesse notices Walt’s eyebrow raising and pink stains his cheeks as he shuffles a little in his seat.

“A-and you’re buying!”

That does nothing to quell Walt’s suspicions, in fact it heightens them, but he ends up shrugging and agreeing.

“Fine,”

“Ain’t you gonna say what you get if you win?”

“Well,” Walt pauses thoughtfully. “If I win you have to tell me why you invited me for go-karts. And beer.”

Jesse scoffs, about to sputter that that’s a lame thing to want for winning, but Walt cuts him off.

“You’re not going to change your mind now, are you?” 

Walt almost grins.

“No way! I’m ready!” Jesse snaps fiercely, and Walt has to fight the urge to snicker. “Man, where’d that guy go?” Jesse looks around him for the attendant who seems to have gone off to get a coffee or something until he was required to return.

“Let’s just do it ourselves,” Walt says. “I’ll count.”

Jesse snorts.

“What? Don’t trust me?”

Jesse wants to say he doesn’t know anymore, but instead he stays silent.

“Look it doesn’t matter who counts, let’s go,” Walt says irritably, annoyed that Jesse hadn’t responded to his previous question. “You do it, I don’t care! Come on!” 

Walt was growing impatient, set on winning this race which had gone from childish competition to something with actual weight to it. 

“H... hah!” Jesse exclaims finally, looking forward determinedly. “Damn right I do it.”

Walt makes a noise of acknowledgement before mirroring Jesse and taking a breath.

“Okay. Three. Two. One... Go!”

Both karts tear forward, both of them eager to win their little wager. Clearly Jesse had come here before and knew the track better of the two of them because he's making the sharp turns easily and smoothly, keeping a decent speed as he goes. 

Walt catches up to him at one point however, and he swears he can hear screaming.

Alarmed, Walt loses focus for a moment which gives Jesse the edge he needs to win.

“Yeah bitch!” He yells as he slows down after the finish line. “Who’s the king?” He continues when Walt pulls up beside him and Walt waves him off with a snort.

“What’s the matter? Sore loser?” Jesse says with a mocking pout, and Walt has to resist the urge to ram Jesse’s kart with his own. Jesse brings up his hands. “Best two our of three?”

Of course Jesse ends up being the winner, just like for those accused coin flips, and Walt is grumbling when the attendant shows up to tell them their time is over. 

He watches Jesse as they exit their karts and take off their helmets, concern etched into the lines on his face. He’d definitely heard screaming, he was pretty sure, and who else could have come from considering the track was all theirs? Not to mention that fleeting look of fright in Jesse’s eyes when Walt had come up behind him.

“What?” Jesse says with an expanding of his arms at Walt’s staring. “What, dude?!” He snaps when Walt doesn’t answer.

“...How are you doing?”

Jesse just blinks at him before inclining his head, expecting that to be enough of an answer.

It’s not.

“No, really, are you okay? I--” Walt’s about to mention something about the yelling on the track, but decides against it. It would probably only raise Jesse’s caution. “Jesse?”

Jesse looks away for a moment as though he considers giving a proper answer, but instead just replies with ‘yeah’.

Walt wants to press the matter and steps forward, hand reaching out for Jesse’s arm, and Jesse flinches as though he’s about to be branded with a hot poker.

“Let’s go already,” Jesse murmurs before turning to leave, shoving his helmet into the attendants arms and not staying for any kind of conversation.

Walt vividly recalls just then his surprise at Jesse managing to kill Gale before Victor showed up, and so inconspicuously. No one knew who had killed Gale.

Walt then wonders; was he surprised at Jesse’s competency, or at the fact that Jesse had readily killed someone when he had been so against it before? When he was a soft touch when you got underneath that tough guy act? 

Maybe it was both. 

Either way, it's then he realises it had had a greater effect on Jesse than he first thought. 

 _It was necessary,_  he reminds himself as he hurriedly catches up with Jesse. He had to do it, not only to save Walt’s life, but by extension, his own as well.

He makes sure Jesse is fully aware of his presence before he carefully brings up a hand to Jesse’s lower back in a sort of supportive way. He hears Jesse suck in a breath, but he doesn’t recoil like before.

Walt’s arm is half around Jesse’s waist by the time they reach the entrance, and he hastily lowers it, knowing that Jesse would fiercely protest.

“So,” He begins as he breathes in the cool early evening air. “Where’d you want to get that drink?”


End file.
